UNC Board of Governors will vote on out-of-state tuition rates

In a departure from precedent, last year the N.C. General Assembly bypassed the UNC-system Board of Governors and mandated steep out-of-state tuition increases for 2014-15.

But N.C. Senate and House budget proposals this summer allow the UNC system to adjust out-of-state tuition rates — as long as tuition increases still raise an estimated $27.2 million, the amount cut from the UNC-system budget last year.

The board will vote Thursday on what out-of-state tuition rates to enact if the state budget, which needs to be finalized by July 1, grants such flexibility.

“Since the short session, there were signs the system might receive this flexibility,” said Charles Perusse, UNC-system chief operating officer.

Under the original hikes, out-of-state students at four system schools, including UNC-Chapel Hill, would have seen a tuition increase of 12.3 percent. There would have been no tuition increases for out-of-state students at UNC-Charlotte and nothing added to a 9.2 percent increase previously implemented by N.C. State University. All other schools’ increases would have been 6 percent.

A small difference

The board will vote to reduce the 12.3 percent out-of-state tuition increases to 11.7 percent and enact a 4 percent increase at UNC-C.

“Since we have to have a $27 million cut, this is the most equitable way to get there,” Perusse said.

UNC-CH would see an out-of-state tuition increase of $3,300 instead of $3,469. UNC-CH had requested a 2.5 percent out-of-state tuition increase — about $700.

Brian Daza, a UNC-CH junior from Maryland, said he wishes for a middle ground.

“I can understand why the state wouldn’t want to go that low, but I don’t think it needs to be so high to put the extra burden on out-of-staters,” he said. “If you have a good school and people want to come to it, you shouldn’t punish them for it.”

Faculty retention

Board members will also discuss faculty retention. The system retained 82 out of 323 faculty members who received other employment offers in the last 22 months — a retention rate of 25 percent.

The board will present on how preemptive offers are more effective and cost-efficient than counteroffers.

Dr. Luda Diatchenko left the UNC-CH School of Dentistry for a position at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, an offer that included $30 million to launch a program in clinical pain genetics. She said schools sometimes do not recognize the value of their faculty.

“In my case, (UNC-CH) maybe couldn’t have done something, but I saw cases that (UNC-CH) could do, could match (offers),” Diatchenko said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.